


So Close to Me

by billypools



Category: One Day at a Time (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Canon Divergence, Eventual Happy Ending, F/F, F/M, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-14
Updated: 2019-02-14
Packaged: 2019-10-28 11:21:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,873
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17786420
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/billypools/pseuds/billypools
Summary: What if Avery and Max never reappeared in 3.13?





	So Close to Me

**Author's Note:**

> ALL RIGHTS, ETC. ARE TO THE RIGHTFUL OWNERS OF ANY CREATIVE CONTENT/CHARACTERS THAT APPEAR AS SUCH. (e.g. I do not own the characters of Penelope/Schneider/etc.)
> 
> This is my first ODAAT fic, and I hope you enjoy it!

Penelope gently leaned in, laughing slightly at the thought of Victor’s Tio Bald Patch and the image of his toupee sliding off as sprinklers soaked the room. Her smile turned downwards though, as she could tell her best friend wasn’t interested in her joke; she might have been more offended on another day, but she knew he was also going through some shit and that this evening was no easier for him than it was for her. 

Schneider quickly rearranged his face into a polite smile as he realised a joke had been directed towards him, before groaning heavily. His whole body language screamed defeat, and was made worse through his lack of coherence when it came to Penelope’s joke. This kind of sadness, this depression, from Schneider concerned her. It had only been 30 days of sobriety and she didn’t want it to be made any more difficult for him that it already was.

Not that it had been particularly easy anyway, but they were trying to help him. When Elena informed her about driving herself and Syd down to a LGBTQ+ march just four days into Schneider’s new test of sobriety, Penelope immediately questioned, “and how’re you gonna do that, with no driver over the age of 25 around to be with you? I’m working and… ay Mami, aren’t you going to the park with Dr. Berkowitz?” With her mami replying in the affirmative, Penelope turned to face Elena and shrugged. “Sorry, hermosa. No march today.” Elena, however, wasn’t going to accept defeat so easily. “Schneider can take me,” she responded challengingly. “I trust him.” And Penelope guesses she did too, despite his mistake being so recently made, because she called him in and asked if he’d had anything to drink because it really, really mattered right now because she was trusting him with her child, and he knew what a big deal that was to her. When he promised, swore on his life that he hadn’t, Penelope nodded. “Go on, then. I trust you. And have fun!” The absolute astonishment and thankfulness she found in his eyes made her tear up; the disbelief that he was still a part of the family. A trusted part.

Still, she didn’t really have anything like that to make him feel better right now.

“I can’t- I can’t get over Avery.” Schneider sighed, looking down before glancing back into Penelope’s eyes. “I had a magical angel woman who wanted a future with me, and I screwed it up.”

“Don’t be so hard on yourself.” Penelope insisted, frowning at him, whilst simultaneously feeling a pang of something in the pit of her belly. Huh. Must’ve been the para el bizcocho.

He gulped, and resignedly folded his arms across the table in front of him, flexing his fist slightly. His eyes hardened, whilst simultaneously softening in their centre and Penelope had no idea how his eyes managed to express so much but she supposed it made sense from a man who contained multitudinous levels of depth.

“I’m sorry. A wedding probably isn’t the best place for me right now.” Glancing down again, Schneider let out a resigned breath and leant forward in his seat, curling up slightly on himself at the memory of his momentary lapse in sobriety. Penelope pulled a slight face, before realising that Schneider was neither looking up nor seemed to be particularly up for a laugh this evening. 

“Well, I’m glad you came.” She concluded, smiling reassuringly, “Otherwise, I’d be the only other single loser here, so…” Chuckling, she picked up her glass and went to take a sip of her… fourth? mojito of the night, before noting that Schneider’s gaze had locked onto her face and that he had become incredibly tense, his whole-body stiffening in response to her words. 

“Are you oka-”

“You are not a loser, Pen.” He insisted intensely, cutting her off. “I know this whole thing is more than a bit crappy for you. Hell, that’s putting it lightly, but you are an incredible woman. Victor just wasn’t the right guy, and that’s okay.”

Mouth gaping slightly, Penelope leant back in her chair as Schneider stared her down, refusing to let her ignore him. She must’ve sounded more bitter than she meant to let slip.

“Uh, thanks Schneider. I guess Max and Mateo weren’t the right guys either, huh?” She chuckled, hoping to loosen the tension that had suddenly sprung up in their conversation.

“No but that’s exactly it, Pen. They weren’t. If they were, if any of them were, they’d be here right now, and you wouldn’t have to be talking to my sorry ass.” Schneider muttered the final words, his head falling into his hands as his elbows rested on his knees. “I should leave, I’m totally killing any buzz this party might have had, and I’m definitely not improving your night.”

Schneider grabbed his glasses from his face and pulled out a tail of his shirt to rub them clean before sliding them back onto his nose. Smilingly unconvincingly, his left hand pushed off the sheet covered table as he attempted to stride off towards the exit to drive home; being sober felt the absolute worst on nights like these but being the designated driver did mean he didn’t have to wait for an uber on a Friday night. However, before he could even step away from the table, he was being pulled back by a vice like grip around his left wrist. Penelope had grabbed him, not allowing him to leave.

“I’m not letting you go anywhere alone right now.” Penelope noted, steely. “I love you, you’re my best friend, and you’re not okay right now. If you need to go, if you’re feeling triggered, we can leave, but I need you to communicate with me because I wanna be there for you. I don’t wanna let you down again.”

Schneider gaped at her, and slowly lowered himself back into the chair. She thought that?

“Pen… you never let me down. God. Is that what you think? You think my… my fuck up was somehow your fault?” He managed to spit out, face aghast.

“Well, you needed someone. I let you out of my eyesight and you slipped away from me. I knew you were struggling when your dad was there and I didn’t offer to help you in any special way, didn’t check on you until it was too late. I let you down.” Penelope muttered, blushing slightly at the intensity of his bewilderment.

“No, Pen. Absolutely not. Fuck that-” Schneider spoke, furiously.

“Schneider!” said Penelope, shocked. He never swore.

“No. Seriously, fuck that Penelope Alvarez. Me messing up? That’s on me. I have a sponsor, and I have your number. I know where you live. I had Avery. I chose to ignore all those things for a bottle. It was a huge mistake, a colossal one, and I can recognise that now but, in that moment, I couldn’t understand how anybody could help me, and that is not, NOT your fault. Do you understand me? I will not allow you to feel any guilt for my mistakes.” Schneider spat out, angrily. 

The intensity in his eyes was striking and they seemed to crackle as though they were forewarning a storm. The deep, dark brown seemed bottomless and without mercy, yet so incredibly earnest and caring that Penelope just… froze. It was probably the swearing too, but she knew that she’d pushed a button that she hadn’t meant to press. Penelope reached for his forearm, and gently rested her hand upon it.

“Okay, Schneider. Okay. I’m sorry.” Penelope whispered, leaning forward to rest her forehead against his. He noticeably softened, his shoulders slumping forward and down as he allowed some of his bodyweight to rest against hers. “Now, how about we get out of here?” She questioned, smiling softly and bringing her hand up to rest it on the side of his face. His skin was frustratingly soft.

“Are you sure? I don’t wanna ruin your night or anything, and what about Lydia and the ki-” Schneider was cut off by a voice he liked to refer to as Penelope’s army voice. He really, really needed to get out of here, but he didn’t want to pull her away from her own night. 

“We’re leaving now, and you will be driving because I have had three too many mojitos. Dr. Berkowitz can bring back Lydia and the kids later, he’s not drinking either. Something about being in solidarity with his ‘best bro’.” Penelope smiled slightly at the bizarre sweetness of her boss, before standing with him and running her hand along to his upper arm. “Also, I appreciate you being honest with me. Now let’s get out of here.” she declared, before stepping away to inform her Mami of the new plans. 

Schneider slowly wandered towards the back of the room as Penelope went to find her mom, deciding to wait by the exit so that he was both out of the way, and away from it all. He could still feel the warmth of Penelope’s hand on his wrist and could trace the exact path it took up his arm, to his tingling cheek. Weird. Digging around in his pocket, his hands brushed against his phone and he paused. He should probably call his sponsor, just to let him know what was going on. He was pretty sure it would help, and he had at least ten minutes before Penelope managed to escape all the Cubans and their well, or not so well, wishes. Opening his phone and hitting call quickly so he couldn’t back out, Schneider motioned to Penelope across the room that he would wait outside. ‘Fresh air’, he mouthed, and she nodded before scurrying off to find one of the kids.

“Hello, Pat? Are you there, are you alright?” the man at the end of the call answered, slightly frantically.

“Hey Chris. Yeah, I’m okay. Don’t worry I haven’t had a drink. It’s just been a rough night and I won’t be able to make it to the next meeting because I’ve gotta take Alex to a baseball game, so I wanted to just kinda… check in. I don’t know it’s probably dumb.” He sighed, looking up at the starry night sky and wondering why he had decided to embarrass himself like this.

“Dude. Not dumb at all, this is exactly why I’m here for you. Not just as sponsor, but as a friend. D’you want me to come over? I’ve not got my kids tonight so we can hang out or whatever you fancy doing.” 

“No, no, it’s okay. I’m going home with Penelope in a sec, and I’m sure she’s not about to leave me on my own after the… incident last month.” Schneider managed to spit out, resentfully. He still couldn’t deal with his failure, that he had let down his loved ones.

“You sure you didn’t wanna talk about anything specific?” Chris intoned curiously. The guy was like a little all-knowing Yoda, thought Schneider.

“Uh, nah I think it’s alright man. Just, this evening with Pen has been a lot y’know? I was feeling a bit overwhelmed, but I think I’m good now. Yeah.” Schneider mused aloud.

“Alright. Well if that’s the case, I should probably leave you to it. I know Penelope doesn’t like to be kept waiting. Remember when you were late out of that meeting last week?” Chris chuckled on the other end of the line.

“Oh god yeah. I felt like I was 8 years old and my third step mum was telling me off again!” Schneider laughed.

“Haha. Okay man, well have a good night alright? And don’t ever think twice before calling me. Get some good sleep and give my love to the girlfriend.”

“Thanks man, and I- wait what?” Schneider responded, confused, but was met by a dial tone. 

That was weird, Schneider thought, frowning. “Although…” he thought, with dawning realisation. He’d never told Chris that he and Avery broke up! That must be it. Wow, that kind of hurt in a whole other way. Chuckling self-deprecatingly, Schneider turned to face the footsteps approaching him from behind.

“Pen, guess what Chris jus- Max? What’re you doing here?” Schneider demanded, becoming even more confused. 

“You’re going home with Penelope?” Max replied instead of an answer, his brow furrowing. “I just heard you on the phone.” He said, as if proving a point that didn’t seem to have been made, at least not to Schneider.

“Uh, yeah, I mean… obviously?” Schneider answered, his pitch raising at the end of the sentence. Max knew he lived in the same block as Pen, why wouldn’t they be going home together?

“Right. Okay. Right. Yeah that adds up, I always suspected… well, anyway, I guess I’ll be leaving then. Uh, see you, Schneider.” Max muttered, turning away before glancing back again and resignedly shaking his head as he made his way across the dark car park and out of sight.

“Ooookaaaaaay then. That was weird.”

“What was weird? Who’re you talking to? Don’t start making like Mami and chattering away to people who aren’t even here Schneider lo juro por Dios.” Penelope laughed, smirking playfully as she sauntered over to him from the building’s heavy exit doors. There was just enough swagger in her step to let Schneider know that she had almost definitely downed another mojito before coming out to find him.

“No, Pen! Someone was here! It was- Uh, a parking attendant!”

Penelope smiled slightly patronisingly, with the slight bend of her furrow that suggested she knew he was lying. 

“Okay then, ya weirdo. Sorry I took so long, Victor’s cousin’s sister-in-law or something bought me a drink and I couldn’t really say no. I downed it to try and hurry up… although I’m now thinking that might’ve been a mistake.” She admitted with a giggle as she lost her balance and had to grab Schneider’s shoulder to steady herself. He knew it. “Right, where did you park? I’m ready for a shower and to bum around with your sorry ass on the couch until everyone else gets home.” 

Penelope lightly swung her arm around his waist, holding her hand securely above his hip and turning him away from the hall that the reception was being held in. The cacophony of Spanish, English, and several other languages gradually faded out and was replaced in Schneider’s mind with an intense awareness of the spot slightly above his waist where Penelope’s thumb had decided to rest and rub at his shirt.

Schneider didn't know why he hadn’t told Penelope that Max had appeared outside the hall. He just knew that if that sad, hopeless expression that had appeared on her face during their chat at the table reappeared, he wasn’t sure his heart could take it.

“This way, Donnie Drunko.” Schneider chuckled, smiling down at her tucked under his arm as he led her to the right of where she had stumbled and moved instead towards the matte black of his BMW. “You look absolutely beautiful tonight, by the way. Like, out of this world stunning. All those dudes? Blind losers.” He pronounced to the night around them, not looking down at her to save her the embarrassment of a compliment. Penelope appreciated it and hugged him slightly closer in the cooler air of the evening. 

“You don’t scrub up too bad yourself, y’know? Maybe even better than at Elena’s quinces…” She ruminated, breathing deeply and smiling into the chest of his soft suit jacket.

“Damn, you must really be feeling bad for me tonight!” Schneider laughed, deflecting the compliment.

“Pshh. I’d never lie just to make you feel better. There’s too many great truths about you to ever need to anyway.” Penelope quietly noted, tightening her hold around him. “I’m sorry I’ve been drinking. I shouldn’t have had that much; I wouldn’t have if I’d known it’d just be us on the way home. Sorry. If it's bothering you I can go back wit-” She rambled.

“Pen." He cut her off. "It’s all good. You know it’s my issue, not yours. I need to be able to live and be around people who drink.” Schneider reassured her, smiling softly at her concern. They’d had this chat a million times over the years; whenever they went out and she had a drink, she got a huge guilt complex about it. Sometimes she cared too much, if that was possible. Still, as long as he could get away with being the recipient of her concern without her realising what a waste of space he was, he was going to.

Tucked under his arm and slightly buzzed, Penelope slowly felt the awful tension of the night releasing itself from her body. She was with her best friend, they were gonna go get some bomb ass take away and watch a film. What could be better? 

Also, he smelt kinda good. Like an oaky, musky scent that was so specifically Schneider that whenever she smelt it, she felt safe.

Safe.

What was it that Nicole had said, about Victor? That she knew he was the one because he made her feel... safe? 

Oh.

Oh, mierda.

**Author's Note:**

> ...and that's the first chapter of my first ODAAT fic. I'm aiming to be updating on a fairly regular basis, hopefully no longer than 10 days between uploads. Comment and let me know if you enjoyed this opening chapter!


End file.
